FX Turning Star Trek-Inspired ‘Redshirts’ Novel Into Limited Series

Feb 8, 2014

FX has greenlit a limited series based on “Redshirts,” a satirical science fiction novel written by John Scalzi published in 2012.

Set in the 25th century, Redshirts follows the adventures of five new recruits on the Starship Intrepid who come to realize that the ship’s crewmembers are dying at an alarming rate. Their investigation leads to the mind-bending discovery that a science fiction television show, produced in the early 21st century, has somehow “intruded” upon their reality and “warped” it. In other words, the lives of the crew are following the course of a television narrative over which they have no control. “Redshirts is a madcap, hyper-meta tale,” Shestack said. Added Kwapis, “If Jorge Luis Borges had been a staff writer on the original Star Trek, he would no doubt have concocted a story like Redshirts.”

Film producer Jon Shestack and producer-director Ken Kwapis are currently looking for writers for the show.

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